Consumerist
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bank of america
BoA EECB Gets $525 In Overdrafts Refunded
Bank of America charged Kelsey 15 overdraft fees totaling $525. Which was weird, because Kelsey had overdraft protection on the account. A BoA customer service rep would to refund $140 as a "courtesy" but that's not very courteous when you're still out $385. That's when Kelsey decided to whip out the ol' EECB and kick some ass: More » -
da bomb
EECB Succeeds Where Stupid Sony Techs Fail
Remember back when some individuals referred to good things as "da bomb?" They probably didn't have the Executive Email Carpet Bomb in mind, since Consumerist didn't yet exist, but they should have. Here's to re-branding "da bomb" as shorthand for the EECB. Just look at what it did for c0crusader, a spurned Sony laptop customer who used da bomb to shake Sony down for $99. More » -
happy endings
EECB Changes Price Tag To Fix Zune From $160 To $0
Brian believes a firmware update made his 80gb Zune give up the ghost, so he called customer service asking for a repair. The CSR's idea was for Brian to send the Zune and $160 so Microsoft — new 80gb Zunes are going for $217 on Amazon — but Brian had a different idea: call in an EECB airstrike. More » -
happy endings
EECB Ends Yearlong Dell Notebook Debacle
Greg struggled for more than a year to get Dell to solve myriad issues with his notebook, but moved things along real quick-like once he ignited an Executive Email Carpet Bomb. He wrote us the following, summarized from two separate messages: More » -
trapped
Bank Piles On Overdraft Fees Due To Merchant Error, Doesn't Seem Too Keen On Refunding Them
Here's a story from a reader about a bad bank practice that we hear about too frequently—a bank cascades hundreds of dollars worth of overdraft fees on an error that's beyond the customer's control, but then is unresponsive or uncooperative on refunding those fees. More » -
hot laptops
Reader Says HP Knows Old Laptops Are Rotten, Doesn't Care
Bobby thinks he's spotted a widespread problem with the HP laptop he bought a year and a half ago. His computer runs too hot and burns itself from the inside out, roasting its innards. More » -
success stories
EECB To Toys R Us Results In Refund, Personal Apology, Free Toy
Seth had what should have been a fairly simple problem. His son's radio control car broke after only a few weeks of use. The toy was purchased at and manufactured by Toys R Us, and an e-mail to the support address included with the toy bounced. No one in the company's usual customer service channels could resolve his problem, and the people whose job it was to help customers in this situation never managed to contact him.
With no other options, he researched the e-mail addresses of the company's executive board and fired off a carefully crafted executive e-mail carpet bomb. More »
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insurance
WSJ Discovers EECB, It Works On Insurance
The venerable Wall Street Journal recently discovered the classic "EECB" technique we've been telling you about for years. This time, it's health insurance companies, an industry so predicated on denial-of-care-for-profit that a few years ago a class action lawsuit based on RICO statute, invented to prosecute Mafia families for racketeering, was able to make significant headway. Lucky for you, email is much faster than the wheels of justice... More » -
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success stories
E.E.C.B. Forces Best Buy To Finally Replace Defective TV
It took an Executive Email Carpet Bomb to convince Best Buy to replace Bryan's Panasonic LiFi LCD Projection TV after it ate through four lamps. Bryan had purchased Best Buy's extended warranty, which contains a no lemon clause that promises a replacement after three failed repairs. Best Buy conveniently insisted that replacing the broken lamp did not count as a "qualified repair." Bryan first escalated his complaint through normal channels; when he had no other choice, he launched the mighty EECB. More » -
double billing
AT&T Charges Customer Twice, Refuses To Investigate It
We think AT&T just stole about $157 from commenter Spoco. They applied the payment as always via his Amex card, but then said that it was declined and auto-debited it a second time a month later (+ late fees, of course). The only problem is, it wasn't declined, and Spoco has proof. He just can't get anyone at AT&T to care. More » -
hazardous clothing
Motherwear Pajamas Almost Choke Newborn: Customer Complains, Company Couldn't Care Less
Consumerist reader Rebecca recently had an unsettling experience with a pair of maternity pajamas she bought from Motherwear: a ribbon at the front detached and ended up lodged in her newborn's mouth as he was nursing. Rebecca was able to retrieve the ribbon and her son was thankfully unharmed. Rebecca wrote to Motherwear to let them know about the potential choking hazard that these pajamas present. But the apathetic responses she received from Motherwear customer service are sadly lacking, given that we're talking about the possibility of infant death. More » -
success stories
EECB Results In $525 Bank Of America Overdraft Fee Refund
Corey admits that he messed up. He was the one who didn't keep as close track of his transactions as he should have, and overdrafted his account. It was Bank of America's policies, however, that resulted in his being hit with fifteen overdraft fees at $35 each, for a total of $525 over the course of a weekend. Corey knew that he was in the wrong, but thought that these fees were unfair, and also more than he could afford. So what did he do? He used what he's learned from reading Consumerist to make his case to the people in charge. More » -
success stories
EECB Convinces Jiffy Lube To Pay For Repairs After Damaging Car
Jiffy Lube agreed to pay Alison over $250 after botching routine work that forced her to interrupt her road trip for emergency car repairs. Alison's mechanic said that Jiffy Lube's attempted transmission fluid flush could have caused "catastrophic car damage" if left unfixed. Jiffy Lube denied all responsibility until Alison fired off an Executive Email Carpet Bomb to C.E.O. Rick Altizer, who agreed not only to reimburse for the repairs, but refunded the original cost of the transmission fluid flush, and tossed in a few coupons for free oil changes. More » -
success stories
EECB Finally Gets Someone At Bank Of America To Listen, Admit Responsibility
Bank of America messed up Andy's credit score by failing to send him credit card statements or giving him online access to an old account he only recently started using again. They also refused to work with him over the phone, telling him each time he called that they had no record of his previous conversations with customer service and therefore no reason to believe him. More » -
eecb
Executive Email Carpet Bomb Scores Hit On Time Warner Cable
For the past two years, Time Warner has charged Eric $10 per month above its published rates. Eric called and made what he thought was a fair offer: In exchange for refunding only one year's worth of overcharges, he would add a premium cable service. A Time Warner supervisor responded with: "this is not let's make a deal," and then offered to refund three months worth of overcharges. Offended and armed with a reasonable request, Eric decided to unleash the mighty Executive Email Carpet Bomb. More » -
appliances
Maytag Refers You To Sears Repair, Then Claims Sears Repair Isn't Authorized
Consumer affairs columnist (and my former colleague) Dan Higgins stumbled upon a well-guarded secret—the real reason the Maytag repairman has nothing to do. It isn't because the appliances are so reliable. No, apparently it's because Maytag dispatches Sears repairmen to make warranty repairs, then refuses to reimburse customers because Sears isn't an authorized repair provider. At least that's what happened to this nice elderly lady. More » -
success stories
Bank Of America Refunds $315 In Overdraft Fees Thanks To EECB
Ryan convinced Bank of America to drop their demand for $315 from nine overdraft fees by sending a well-crafted Executive Email Carpet Bomb. Ryan admitted that he was wrong to expect his checks to clear so quickly, but gently reminded the bank that nine overdraft fees was excessive, and explained that he would consider taking his business elsewhere if they thought this was an acceptable way to treat a long-time customer. Two days later, the fees were gone. More » -
best buy
Updated Contact Info For Best Buy Execs
An anonymous tipster sent in an updated list of contact info for some of the people working at the top of the Best Buy food chain. Remember, don't bug them until you've exhausted all other options. More »
eecb
New York, 11:37 PM
Tue Nov 10
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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